Originally, online gaming has been the purview of more technologically experienced users who could deal with the difficulty of properly configuring their computer for online gaming play. Because of the complexity of technical skill required to allow for online gaming competition, initial users generally were more hard-core players who enjoyed the competitiveness of multiplayer gaming. Consequently, developers of games and gaming services historically have built online matchmaking services for gaming environments that are only based on one of two criteria, technical criteria (such as the connection speed of the computer in use, operational speed of the computer in use, or the language preference of a user) or the general skill level of the user.
Today, online gaming has become a form of entertainment for millions of people. A new generation of user friendly gaming systems allows a large number of new and less experienced users to connect online and interact with others. Two such systems include XBOX Live® by Microsoft Corporation® of Redmond, Wash. and the EA Sports™ online service by Electronic Arts™ Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. In particular, XBOX Live® allows users to interact with each other beyond mere game play. For example, a user can talk to another user during the game, such as to “trash talk”, e.g., taunt, the other player or to constructively collaborate with another player to make a plan or strategy. Such advances have helped to increase the number of online players by including more human interaction in the process. The growing population of users is more diverse compared to earlier generations of users. As a result of the increase in users of all different abilities, users are introduced to a wide variety of different opponents and online experiences. Still, gaming systems and services today match users based on technical criteria and/or general skill level criteria only.
Conventional gaming systems and services allow a user to be matched with others based upon skill level. Skill level can be defined by many different and unique criteria, such as number of wins or number of losses. Such criteria help a novice player that is unfamiliar with many of the different facets of a particular game and/or game type to be matched with other novice players similarly unfamiliar. Additionally, highly skilled players can be matched with similarly highly skilled players immediately, thereby conveniently and quickly allowing a hard-core player to compete against other hard-core players. However, when a user, whether novice or highly skilled, is matched with a similar competitor for a game, the user has no idea as to whether the competitor is a person that talks trash, that is a male, that is a grandmother, that lives in Newark, N.J., or that has a similar educational background that the user has. A user may want to be matched with another player with a similar background, such as one of these criteria.
Generally, when a user desires to be matched with another competitor for a particular game and/or game type, the user must select a “Room” (or “Lobby”) with the goal of beginning a new session instance, such as a game. Once in a Room, the user must decide to create a new session instance, or find a session instance that is already created, but is not full. The user then waits until the selected session instance has enough players present to begin. Under the conventional matchmaking model, novice players can choose to be matched with similarly skilled opponents, but the novice player cannot choose to be matched with similar novice players from a certain geographic region, from a similar economic background, based upon a preferred hobby, or based upon the physical appearance of another player.
One aspect of online gaming services and systems which is not recognized widely in the art is the fact that many players are utilizing online game matchmaking services primarily for social rather than competitive reasons. Because conventional gaming systems match based upon only technical or general skill level criteria, existing matchmaking systems do not fully support what today's multiplayer gamer desires. Players with different interests, styles, and/or personalities often find themselves playing with, or against, one another as existing matchmaking systems do not take a play style of a player into consideration when matching players into online games. These mismatches result in many players experiencing what the player may feel is inappropriate behavior by the other player. These experiences result in negative online experiences for some consumers and can result in players quitting a game or the gaming experience all together.